Concert De Paix: Paris, 1984

This recording offers one of Sri Chinmoy’s first public Peace Concerts, held in Paris on 13 October 1984. A crowd of more than 13,000 came to two concerts held on the same day at Espace Balard to accommodate the overflow audience. This concert was among many other Peace Concerts Sri Chinmoy offered around the world.

Music has always been a universal mystical language of choice, and it is one that Sri Chinmoy frequently used to express his message of peace. Between 1984 and 2007, he offered more than seven hundred concerts for peace in many countries. In France, he performed in many venues such as the Espace Balard, the Zenith, Cirque d’Hiver, Unesco and the Carrousel du Louvre.

This recording brings you one of his first public concerts in 1984. On October 13 of that year, a crowd of more than 13,000 came to his two Paris concerts, held on the same day. This spiritual event, held in two sessions at Espace Balard hall to accommodate the overflow audience, was among many other concerts performed for to promote peace in the world. At the end of the second concert, Sri Chinmoy delivered the following message, in French:

“France, you are at once my dear friend, my sweet sister and my beloved mother …My friend, my searching mind will never forget your great kindness.My sister, my aspiring heart will never forget your abundant affection.My mother, my serving life will never forget your lofty blessings.”
“This evening a French heart and an Indian heart have proved to each other that they delightfully, peacefully and inseparably belong to each other. France, I devotedly bow to you with my service-life. France, I soulfully bow to you with my gratitude-heart.”

The French newspaper Le Monde remarked afterwards on the “extraordinary sociological fact” that “a single man, simply by standing with folded hands, is able to impose several minutes of silence upon thousands of people of varied origins.” The reporter went on to say, “Curiously, one had the feeling that the crowd had not come for the music but rather for what was in between the compositions, that is, the inner peace that the sound only served to prolong.”

These multiple performances reflect Sri Chinmoy’s aspiration to serve people from all walks of life, faiths and nations through his vision of a one world-family. In this concert he sings his compositions both in Bengali and English accompanied with harmonium and cello. On rare occasions he performed extemporaneously in an Indian classical tradition. Choosing from his thousands of compositions, the audience of this Espace Balard concert could enjoy songs as “Jiban Debata” – composed and translated by Sri Chinmoy in 1978, “Anute Renute” or English songs “Everest-Aspiration” and “Never say no“.

As a prolific composer he finished thousands of songs – not only in his native Bengali and in English, but also in Sanskrit language and even a few in French where has written a song on France – “France: Revolution and Evolution” or “Lorsque le pouvoir” in his songbook from 1989 called “Vive La France“.

Reviews on Sri Chinmoy’s Peace Concerts

“The crowd had come not only for the music, but also for what was between the compositions, the inner serenity that the sounds only serve to prolong.”Le Monde / Paris, France

“This was an evening for silent meditations and for haunting tunes, played on Indian flute, esraj and other instruments, sent into the crisp evening air by Sri Chinmoy.”Los Angeles Times / Los Angeles, CA, U.S.A.

“These songs remind us that heaven is inside ourselves. Is this not their essential worth?”Aurores Magazine / France

“It was clearly not an event to advertise or raise money. Sri Chinmoy’s approach was altogether different. He aimed to in still a profound sense of harmony in the hearts of his audience by playing soulful music.”Common Ground / Melbourne, Australia